Regma Primary showcases Indigenous culture
September 28, 2015 | By KNews | Filed Under News, Source
The parents, teachers and pupils of the Regma Primary School in Linden celebrated Amerindian Heritage month (Indigenous month) in grand style, last week, pulling out all the stops to showcase the culture of Guyana’s first people. The celebrations culminated with a ‘Pepperpot Day’ on Wednesday.
The students ate pepperpot and cassava bread, donned indigenous garb and showcased various types of handicraft.
In their efforts to make the “Amerindian experience’’ as authentic as possible, the teachers collaborated with parents and built a benab with troolie roofing and round wood stilts.
“The parents were very helpful- we discussed what we wanted and they went as far as Bamia, Linden/ Soesdyke Highway, to get the troolie palms for the roof.
And then we all worked as a team to make the benab a reality.
We actually had one before, but that was destroyed sometime back- so now we have a brand new one, and the children are very excited about it,” one of the teachers said.
With the benab in place, the pupils were afforded the opportunity to see the entire process of cassava baking, which was done on the spot.
“We had the parents come right here and illustrate the whole process- from peeling the cassava to grating and drying it, then finally baking it.
“All of that was done over three days. After that it was time to cook the pepperpot which we also did right here on a fireside, which we built with stones.
So our children were actually able to experience firsthand how both the cassava bread and pepperpot and the tumapot are made,” the teacher added.
Apart from the benab building and cooking aspect of the project, the children were also encouraged to take baskets, fans, an arrow and bow and other items to school.
Headmistress of the school, Joanne Yaw, said it was a great way for the children to learn more and appreciate Amerindian culture and simultaneously enjoy their traditional cuisine.
“This month is education month and it is also Amerindian Heritage month, so we tried our best to incorporate the two. The children experienced first-hand certain aspects of the Amerindian culture- and so now they are better informed- they have gained new knowledge and had fun doing it.”
The teachers expressed gratitude to the parents for their invaluable support in helping to create a unique Amerindian “experience” for the children. (Enid Joaquin)
